Multiple protocol wireless communications in a WLAN

ABSTRACT

A method for multiple protocol wireless communications begins by determining protocols of wireless communication devices within a proximal region. The method then continues by determining whether the protocols of the wireless communication devices within the proximal region are of a like protocol. The method continues by, when the protocols of the wireless communication devices within the proximal region are not of a like protocol, selecting a protocol of the protocols of the wireless communication devices within the proximal region based on a protocol ordering to produce a selected protocol. The method continues by utilizing the selected protocol by the wireless communication devices within the proximal region to set up a wireless communication within the proximal region.

This invention is claiming priority under 35 USC § 119(e) to aprovisionally filed patent application having the same title as thepresent patent application, a filing date of Feb. 13, 2004, and a Ser.No. 60/544,605.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to wireless communication systems andmore particularly to supporting multiple wireless communicationprotocols within a wireless local area network.

2. Description of Related Art

Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire linedcommunications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices.Such communication systems range from national and/or internationalcellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-homewireless networks. Each type of communication system is constructed, andhence operates, in accordance with one or more communication standards.For instance, wireless communication systems may operate in accordancewith one or more standards including, but not limited to, IEEE 802.11,Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access(CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS),multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), and/or variationsthereof.

Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wirelesscommunication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio,personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptopcomputer, home entertainment equipment, et cetera communicates directlyor indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For directcommunications (also known as point-to-point communications), theparticipating wireless communication devices tune their receivers andtransmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g., one of the pluralityof radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communication system)and communicate over that channel(s). For indirect wirelesscommunications, each wireless communication device communicates directlywith an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or anassociated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wirelessnetwork) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication connectionbetween the wireless communication devices, the associated base stationsand/or associated access points communicate with each other directly,via a system controller, via the public switch telephone network, viathe Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.

For each wireless communication device to participate in wirelesscommunications, it includes a built-in radio transceiver (i.e., receiverand transmitter) or is coupled to an associated radio transceiver (e.g.,a station for in-home and/or in-building wireless communicationnetworks, RF modem, etc.). As is known, the transmitter includes a datamodulation stage, one or more intermediate frequency stages, and a poweramplifier. The data modulation stage converts raw data into basebandsignals in accordance with a particular wireless communication standard.The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signalswith one or more local oscillations to produce RF signals. The poweramplifier amplifies the RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.

As is also known, the receiver is coupled to the antenna and includes alow noise amplifier, one or more intermediate frequency stages, afiltering stage, and a data recovery stage. The low noise amplifierreceives inbound RF signals via the antenna and amplifies then. The oneor more intermediate frequency stages mix the amplified RF signals withone or more local oscillations to convert the amplified RF signal intobaseband signals or intermediate frequency (IF) signals. The filteringstage filters the baseband signals or the IF signals to attenuateunwanted out of band signals to produce filtered signals. The datarecovery stage recovers raw data from the filtered signals in accordancewith the particular wireless communication standard.

As is further known, the standard to which a wireless communicationdevice is compliant within a wireless communication system may vary. Forinstance, as the IEEE 802.11 specification has evolved from IEEE 802.11to IEEE 802.11b to IEEE 802.11a and to IEEE 802.11g, wirelesscommunication devices that are compliant with IEEE 802.11b may exist inthe same wireless local area network (WLAN) as IEEE 802.11g compliantwireless communication devices. As another example, IEEE 802.11acompliant wireless communication devices may reside in the same WLAN asIEEE 802.11g compliant wireless communication devices. When legacydevices (i.e., those compliant with an earlier version of a standard)reside in the same WLAN as devices compliant with later versions of thestandard, a mechanism is employed to insure that legacy devices knowwhen the newer version devices are utilizing the wireless channel as toavoid a collision.

For instance, backward compatibility with legacy devices has beenenabled exclusively at either the physical (PHY) layer (in the case ofIEEE 802.11b) or the Media-Specific Access Control (MAC) layer (in thecase of 802.11g). At the PHY layer, backward compatibility is achievedby re-using the PHY preamble from a previous standard. In this instance,legacy devices will decode the preamble portion of all signals, whichprovides sufficient information for determining that the wirelesschannel is in use for a specific period of time, thereby avoidcollisions even though the legacy devices cannot fully demodulate and/ordecode the transmitted frame(s).

At the MAC layer, backward compatibility with legacy devices is enabledby forcing devices that are compliant with a newer version of thestandard to transmit special frames using modes or data rates that areemployed by legacy devices. For example, the newer devices may transmitClear to Send/Ready to Send (CTS/RTS) exchange frames and/or CTS to selfframes as are employed in IEEE 802.11g. These special frames containinformation that sets the NAV (network allocation vector) of legacydevices such that these devices know when the wireless channel is in useby newer stations.

Both of the existing mechanisms for backward compatibility suffer from aperformance loss relative to that which can be achieved without backwardcompatibility and are used independently of each other.

Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus that enablesmultiple protocols to be supported within a wireless communicationsystem, including wireless local area networks.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The multiple protocol wireless communications in a WLAN of presentinvention substantially meets these needs and others. In one embodiment,a method for multiple protocol wireless communications begins bydetermining protocols of wireless communication devices within aproximal region. The method then continues by determining whether theprotocols of the wireless communication devices within the proximalregion are of a like protocol. The method continues by, when theprotocols of the wireless communication devices within the proximalregion are not of a like protocol, selecting a protocol of the protocolsof the wireless communication devices within the proximal region basedon a protocol ordering to produce a selected protocol. The methodcontinues by utilizing the selected protocol by the wirelesscommunication devices within the proximal region to set up a wirelesscommunication within the proximal region.

In another embodiment, a method for a wireless communication device toparticipate in multiple protocol wireless communications begins byaffiliating with an access point utilizing a protocol of the wirelesscommunication device. The method continues by receiving a selectedprotocol from the access point. The method continues by determiningwhether the selected protocol and the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device are of a like protocol. The method continues by,when the selected protocol and the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device are not of the like protocol, utilizing theselected protocol to set up a wireless communication and utilizing theprotocol of the wireless communication device for the wirelesscommunication.

In a further embodiment, a method for a wireless communication device toparticipate in multiple protocol wireless communications begins byreceiving a frame via a wireless channel. The method continues by, whena selected protocol is not of a like protocol of the wirelesscommunication device, utilizing the selected protocol to interpret atleast a portion of wireless communication set up information of theframe. The method continues by, based on the interpreting of the atleast a portion of the wireless communication set up information,determining whether a remainder of the frame is formatted in accordancewith the protocol of the wireless communication device. The methodcontinues by, when the remainder of the frame is formatted in accordancewith the protocol of the wireless communication device, processing theremainder of the frame based in accordance with the protocol of thewireless communication device.

In yet another embodiment, a method for a wireless communication deviceto participate in multiple protocol wireless communications begins bydetermining whether a selected protocol is of a like protocol of thewireless communication device. The method continues by, when theselected protocol is not of the like protocol of the wirelesscommunication device, formatting a portion of wireless communication setup information in accordance with the selected protocol to producelegacy formatted set up information. The method continues by formattingremainder of the wireless communication set up information in accordancewith the protocol of the wireless communication device to producecurrent formatted set up information. The method continues by formattingdata in accordance with the protocol of the wireless communicationdevice to produce current formatted data. The method continues bytransmitting a frame containing the legacy formatted set up information,the current formatted set up information, and the current formatteddata.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication systemin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication devicein accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an access point communicatingwith wireless communication devices in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting one type of wireless communication inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram depicting another type of wireless communication inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of yet another wireless communication in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of a method for multiple protocolcommunications in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a logic diagram of a method for monitoring success of wirelessmultiple protocol communications in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a logic diagram of a method for a wireless communicationdevice to participate in a multiple protocol communication in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a logic diagram of another method for a wirelesscommunication device to participate in a multiple protocol communicationin accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a logic diagram of yet another method for a wirelesscommunication device to participate in a multiple protocol communicationin accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a communication system10 that includes a plurality of base stations and/or access points12-16, a plurality of wireless communication devices 18-32 and a networkhardware component 34. The wireless communication devices 18-32 may belaptop host computers 18 and 26, personal digital assistant hosts 20 and30, personal computer hosts 24 and 32 and/or cellular telephone hosts 22and 28. The details of the wireless communication devices will bedescribed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 2.

The base stations or access points 12-16 are operably coupled to thenetwork hardware 34 via local area network connections 36, 38 and 40.The network hardware 34, which may be a router, switch, bridge, modem,system controller, et cetera provides a wide area network connection 42for the communication system 10. Each of the base stations or accesspoints 12-16 has an associated antenna or antenna array to communicatewith the wireless communication devices in its regional area, which isgenerally referred to as a basic service set (BSS). Typically, thewireless communication devices register with a particular base stationor access point 12-14 to receive services from the communication system10. For direct connections (i.e., point-to-point communications),wireless communication devices communicate directly via an allocatedchannel to produce an ad-hoc network.

Typically, base stations are used for cellular telephone systems andlike-type systems, while access points are used for in-home orin-building wireless networks. Regardless of the particular type ofcommunication system, each wireless communication device includes abuilt-in radio and/or is coupled to a radio. The radio includes a highlylinear amplifier and/or programmable multi-stage amplifier as disclosedherein to enhance performance, reduce costs, reduce size, and/or enhancebroadband applications.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device that includes the host device 18-32 and anassociated radio 60. For cellular telephone hosts, the radio 60 is abuilt-in component. For personal digital assistants hosts, laptop hosts,and/or personal computer hosts, the radio 60 may be built-in or anexternally coupled component.

As illustrated, the host device 18-32 includes a processing module 50,memory 52, radio interface 54, input interface 58 and output interface56. The processing module 50 and memory 52 execute the correspondinginstructions that are typically done by the host device. For example,for a cellular telephone host device, the processing module 50 performsthe corresponding communication functions in accordance with aparticular cellular telephone standard.

The radio interface 54 allows data to be received from and sent to theradio 60. For data received from the radio 60 (e.g., inbound data), theradio interface 54 provides the data to the processing module 50 forfurther processing and/or routing to the output interface 56. The outputinterface 56 provides connectivity to an output display device such as adisplay, monitor, speakers, et cetera such that the received data may bedisplayed. The radio interface 54 also provides data from the processingmodule 50 to the radio 60. The processing module 50 may receive theoutbound data from an input device such as a keyboard, keypad,microphone, et cetera via the input interface 58 or generate the dataitself. For data received via the input interface 58, the processingmodule 50 may perform a corresponding host function on the data and/orroute it to the radio 60 via the radio interface 54.

Radio 60 includes a host interface 62, digital receiver processingmodule 64, memory 75, a digital transmitter processing module 76, and aradio transceiver. The radio transceiver includes an analog-to-digitalconverter 66, a filtering/gain module 68, an IF mixing down conversionstage 70, a receiver filter 71, a low noise amplifier 72, atransmitter/receiver switch 73, a local oscillation module 74, adigital-to-analog converter 78, a filtering/gain module 80, an IF mixingup conversion stage 82, a power amplifier 84, a transmitter filtermodule 85, and an antenna 86. The antenna 86 may be a single antennathat is shared by the transmit and receive paths as regulated by theTx/Rx switch 73, or may include separate antennas for the transmit pathand receive path. The antenna implementation will depend on theparticular standard to which the wireless communication device iscompliant.

The digital receiver processing module 64 and the digital transmitterprocessing module 76, in combination with operational instructionsstored in memory 75, execute digital receiver functions and digitaltransmitter functions, respectively, in accordance with one or morewireless communication standards and as further function to implementone or more aspects of the functionality described with reference toFIGS. 3-11. The digital receiver functions include, but are not limitedto, digital intermediate frequency to baseband conversion, demodulation,constellation demapping, decoding, and/or descrambling. The digitaltransmitter functions include, but are not limited to, scrambling,encoding, constellation mapping, modulation, and/or digital baseband toIF conversion. The digital receiver and transmitter processing modules64 and 76 may be implemented using a shared processing device,individual processing devices, or a plurality of processing devices.Such a processing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller,digital signal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, fieldprogrammable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logiccircuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device thatmanipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on operationalinstructions. The memory 75 may be a single memory device or a pluralityof memory devices. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory,random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, staticmemory, dynamic memory, flash memory, and/or any device that storesdigital information. Note that when the processing module 64 and/or 76implements one or more of its functions via a state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry, the memory storingthe corresponding operational instructions is embedded with thecircuitry comprising the state machine, analog circuitry, digitalcircuitry, and/or logic circuitry.

In operation, the radio 60 receives outbound data 94 from the hostdevice via the host interface 62. The host interface 62 routes theoutbound data 94 to the digital transmitter processing module 76, whichprocesses the outbound data 94 in accordance with a particular wirelesscommunication standard (e.g., IEEE 802.11 and versions thereof,Bluetooth and versions thereof, et cetera) to produce digitaltransmission formatted data 96. The digital transmission formatted data96 will be a digital base-band signal or a digital low IF signal, wherethe low IF typically will be in the frequency range of one hundredkilohertz to a few megahertz.

The digital-to-analog converter 78 converts the digital transmissionformatted data 96 from the digital domain to the analog domain. Thefiltering/gain module 80 filters and/or adjusts the gain of the analogsignal prior to providing it to the IF mixing stage 82. The IF mixingstage 82 converts the analog baseband or low IF signal into an RF signalbased on a transmitter local oscillation 83 provided by localoscillation module 74. The power amplifier 84 amplifies the RF signal toproduce outbound RF signal 98, which is filtered by the transmitterfilter module 85. The antenna 86 transmits the outbound RF signal 98 toa targeted device such as a base station, an access point and/or anotherwireless communication device.

The radio 60 also receives an inbound RF signal 88 via the antenna 86,which was transmitted by a base station, an access point, or anotherwireless communication device. The antenna 86 provides the inbound RFsignal 88 to the receiver filter module 71 via the Tx/Rx switch 73,where the Rx filter 71 bandpass filters the inbound RF signal 88. The Rxfilter 71 provides the filtered RF signal to low noise amplifier 72,which amplifies the signal 88 to produce an amplified inbound RF signal.The low noise amplifier 72 provides the amplified inbound RF signal tothe IF mixing module 70, which directly converts the amplified inboundRF signal into an inbound low IF signal or baseband signal based on areceiver local oscillation 81 provided by local oscillation module 74.The down conversion module 70 provides the inbound low IF signal orbaseband signal to the filtering/gain module 68. The filtering/gainmodule 68 filters and/or gains the inbound low IF signal or the inboundbaseband signal to produce a filtered inbound signal.

The analog-to-digital converter 66 converts the filtered inbound signalfrom the analog domain to the digital domain to produce digitalreception formatted data 90. The digital receiver processing module 64decodes, descrambles, demaps, and/or demodulates the digital receptionformatted data 90 to recapture inbound data 92 in accordance with theparticular wireless communication standard being implemented by radio60. The host interface 62 provides the recaptured inbound data 92 to thehost device 18-32 via the radio interface 54.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, the wirelesscommunication device of FIG. 2 may be implemented using one or moreintegrated circuits. For example, the host device may be implemented onone integrated circuit, the digital receiver processing module 64, thedigital transmitter processing module 76 and memory 75 may beimplemented on a second integrated circuit, and the remaining componentsof the radio 60, less the antenna 86, may be implemented on a thirdintegrated circuit. As an alternate example, the radio 60 may beimplemented on a single integrated circuit. As yet another example, theprocessing module 50 of the host device and the digital receiver andtransmitter processing modules 64 and 76 may be a common processingdevice implemented on a single integrated circuit. Further, the memory52 and memory 75 may be implemented on a single integrated circuitand/or on the same integrated circuit as the common processing modulesof processing module 50 and the digital receiver and transmitterprocessing module 64 and 76.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an access point 12-16communicating with wireless communication devices 25, 27 and/or 29. Thewireless communication devices 25, 27 and/or 29 may be any one of thedevices 18-32 illustrated in FIG. 1 and discussed in detail in FIG. 2.In this illustration, access point 12-16 includes a processing module15, memory 17 and a radio transceiver 19. The radio transceiver 19 maybe similar to the radio transceiver of each wireless communicationdevice in architecture and may include a plurality of antennas, transmitpaths and receive paths for multiple wireless communications within aproximal region or basic service set. The processing module 15 may be asingle processing device or a plurality of processing devices. Such aprocessing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller, digitalsignal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, fieldprogrammable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logiccircuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device thatmanipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on operationalinstructions. The memory 17 may be a single memory device or a pluralityof memory devices. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory,random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, staticmemory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or any devicethat stores digital information. Note that when the processing module 15implements one or more of its functions via a state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry, the memory storingthe corresponding operational instructions may be embedded within, orexternal to, the circuitry comprising the state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry. The memory 17stores, and the processing module 15 executes, operational instructionscorresponding to at least some of the steps and/or functions illustratedin FIGS. 3-11.

In this illustration, each of the wireless communication devices 25, 27and 29 utilize a different wireless communication protocol. Asillustrated, wireless communication device 25 utilizes protocol A,wireless communication device 27 utilizes protocol B and wirelesscommunication device 29 utilizes protocol C. For example, protocols A, Band C may correspond to different versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard.In particular, protocol A may correspond to IEEE 802.11b, protocol B maycorrespond to IEEE 802.11g and protocol C may correspond to IEEE802.11n.

FIG. 3 further illustrates a protocol ordering table that has protocolA, protocol B and protocol C listed in order. The ordering may be basedon the legacy of each of the corresponding protocols where the firstprotocol in the ordering is the oldest standard and the last entry inthe protocol ordering is the most current standard. For example, in thispresent illustration protocol A may correspond to IEEE 802.11b, protocolB may correspond to IEEE 802.11g and protocol C may correspond to IEEE802.11n. Alternatively, the protocol ordering may be based on a userdefined and/or system administrator defined procedure. For instance, ifan unacceptable number of transmission errors occur due tonon-recognition of frames while utilizing protocol A to set-up wirelesscommunications, the user may select the protocol B format for setting upa wireless communication. This concept will be described in greaterdetail with reference to the remaining figures.

In operation, the access point 12-16, and/or each of the wirelesscommunication devices 25, 27 and 29, determine the protocol utilized byeach of the wireless communication devices within the proximal region.Recall that the proximal region may include a basic service set and/orneighboring basic service sets and/or a direct, or ad-hoc networkwherein the wireless communication devices communicate directly. Oncethe protocol of each of the wireless communication devices has beendetermined, the access point 12-16 and/or the wireless communicationdevices 25-29 determine, based on the protocol ordering, which protocolwill be utilized to set-up a wireless communication. For instance, ifprotocol A corresponds to IEEE 802.11b, the communication devices willutilize a MAC level protection mechanism to set-up a wirelesscommunication, as will be further described with reference to FIG. 6. Assuch, each of the wireless communication devices will utilize protocol Ato set-up, or establish, a wireless communication such that the legacydevices recognize that a wireless communication is being set-up and alsorecognizes the duration of that wireless communication such that it willnot transmit during that time, thus avoiding a collision.

Once the wireless communication is established, or set-up, utilizing aselected protocol (e.g., protocol A) from the protocol ordering, thecommunication device then utilizes its protocol to transmit the data forthe remainder of the wireless communication. For example, wirelesscommunication device 25 will utilize protocol A to establish and totransmit data for a wireless communication. Wireless communicationdevice 27 will utilize protocol A to set-up a wireless communication andthen use protocol B for the corresponding data transmission of thewireless communication. Similarly, wireless communication device 29 willutilize protocol A to establish, or set-up, the wireless communicationand then use protocol C for the data transmission portion of thewireless communication.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, if the proximalregion only includes wireless communication devices that utilize thesame protocol, the set-up and data transmission is done using thatprotocol. As one of average skill in the art will further appreciate, ifonly two different protocols are present within the proximal region, thelegacy protocol will be selected as the set-up protocol.

FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting a wireless communication between twowireless communication devices 100 and 102 that are in a proximal regionwhere the only protocol that is used is IEEE 802.11n. The wirelesscommunication may be direct (i.e., from wireless communication device towireless communication device), or indirect (i.e., from a wirelesscommunication device to an access point to a wireless communicationdevice). In this example, wireless communication device 100 is providingframe 104 to wireless communication device 102. The frame 104 includes awireless communication set-up information field 106 and a data portion108. The wireless communication set-up information portion 106 includesa short training sequence that may be 8 microseconds long, a 1^(st)supplemental long training sequence that may be 8 microseconds long,which is one of a plurality of supplemental long training sequences.Note that the number of supplemental long training sequences willcorrespond to the number of transmit antennas being utilized formultiple input multiple output radio communications.

The data portion of the frame 104 includes a plurality of data symbolseach being 4 microseconds in duration. The last data symbol alsoincludes a tail bits and padding bits as needed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a wireless communication between two wirelesscommunication devices 100 and 102, each of which is compliant with IEEE802.11n. Such a communication is taking place within a proximal areathat includes 802.11n compliant devices, 802.11a compliant devicesand/or 802.11g compliant devices. In this instance, the wirelesscommunication may be direct or indirect where a frame 110 includes alegacy portion of the set-up information 112, remaining set-upinformation portion 114, and the data portion 108.

The legacy portion of the set-up information 112 includes a shorttraining sequence, which is 8 microseconds in duration, a long trainingsequence, which is 8 microseconds in duration, and a service field,which is 4 microseconds in duration. The service field, as is known,includes several bits to indicate the duration of the frame 110. Assuch, the IEEE 802.11a compliant devices within the proximal area andthe 802.11g compliant devices within the proximal area will recognizethat a frame is being transmitted even though such devices will not beable to interpret the remaining portion of the frame. In this instance,the legacy devices (IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11g) will avoid acollision with the IEEE 802.11n communication based on a properinterpretation of the legacy portion of the set-up information 112.

The remaining set-up information 114 includes additional supplementallong training sequences, which are each 8 microseconds in duration. Theremaining set-up information further includes a high data service field,which is 4 microseconds in duration to provide additional informationregarding the frame. The data portion 108 includes the data symbols,which are 4 microseconds in duration as previously described withreference to FIG. 3. In this instance, the legacy protection is providedat the physical layer.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a wireless communication between two wirelesscommunication devices 100 and 102 that are both IEEE 802.11n compliant.The wireless communication may be direct or indirect within a proximalarea that includes IEEE 802.11 compliant devices, IEEE 802.11a, 802.11band/or 802.11g devices. In this instance, the frame includes a legacyportion of the set-up information 112, remaining set-u information 114and the data portion 108. As shown, the legacy portion of the set-upinformation 112, or legacy frame, includes an IEEE 802.11 PHY preambleand a MAC partitioning frame portion, which indicates the particulars ofthis particular frame that may be interpreted by legacy devices. In thisinstance, the legacy protection is provided at the MAC layer.

The remaining set-up information 114 includes a plurality ofsupplemental long training sequences and the high data service field.The data portion 108 includes a plurality of data symbols as previouslydescribed.

FIG. 7 is a method for multiple protocol wireless communications in aWLAN. The method begins at step 120, where an access point (for indirectwireless communications) or a wireless communication device (for directwireless communications), determines protocols of wireless communicationdevices within a proximal region. In an embodiment, the protocols may bedetermined based on frequency band of use and wireless local areanetwork communication format of each of the wireless communicationdevices. For example, if the frequency band is 2.4 GHz, a device mayhave a WLAN communication format in accordance with IEEE 802.11b, IEEE802.11g, and/or IEEE 802.11n. If the frequency band is 4.9-5.85 GHz, adevice may have a WLAN communication format in accordance with IEEE802.11a or IEEE 802.11n. Further, the proximal region includes coveragearea of a basic service set, coverage area of an ad-hoc network, and/orcoverage area of the basic service set and at least a portion of atleast one neighboring basic service set. With reference to FIG. 1,neighboring BSS of access point 12 include the BSS of access point 14and/or the BSS of access point 16.

Returning to the logic diagram of FIG. 7, the process continues at step122 where the access point and/or the wireless communication devicedetermines whether the protocols of the wireless communication deviceswithin the proximal region are of a like protocol. The process thenproceeds to step 124 where the process branches depending on whether theprotocols of the wireless communication devices within the proximalregion are of a like protocol. When the wireless communication deviceswithin the proximal region all use the same protocol, the processproceeds to step 126 where the wireless communication devices use theirprotocol for setting up a wireless communication and for the wirelesscommunication.

If, however, at least one wireless communication device has a differentprotocol, the process proceeds to step 128 where the access point or awireless communication device selects a protocol of the protocols of thewireless communication devices within the proximal region based on aprotocol ordering to produce a selected protocol. The protocol orderingmay be an ordering of the protocols based on legacy ordering of wirelesscommunication devices and/or an ordering of the protocols based on atransmission efficiency ordering of the protocols. For example, IEEE802.11, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, and IEEE 802.11n compliant devicesoperate in the 2.4 GHz frequency band and IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11ncompliant devices operate in the 4.9-5.85 GHz frequency band. Thus, inthe 2.4 GHz frequency band, if 802.11b stations are present with 802.11ndevice, MAC level protection mechanisms, such as those defined in802.11g, and as shown in FIG. 6, may be used. However, if the onlylegacy 802.11g devices are present with 802.11n devices, then either MAClevel (e.g., FIG. 6) or PHY level (e.g., FIG. 5) protection mechanismsmay be used. In the 4.9-5.85 GHz frequency band, if 802.11a devices arepresent with 802.11n devices, the MAC level protection mechanism or thePHY level protection mechanism may be used.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, it may be moredesirable to use a PHY level protection mechanism, than a MAC levelprotection mechanism because the throughput impact will be less sincethe additional frames of the MAC level protection are not needed. Thus,when possible, the PHY mechanism should be employed first. If the PHYmechanism does not work well, as measured by the number ofunacknowledged frames exceeding a threshold, then the MAC levelmechanism should be employed.

As one of average skill in the art will further appreciate, the legacystatus and required use of protection mechanisms can be enabled in theERP Information Element of the beacon frame (and probe response frame).Currently 802.11g uses bits 0 to indicate Non-ERP (i.e. 11b) present andbit 1 to force stations to Use Protection (MAC level). This can beextended to used the reserved bits (3 though 7) to indicate legacystatus of 0.11g or 0.11a stations. In one embodiment, bit 3 may be usedto indicated “Legacy OFDM present”. The bits would then be interpretedas follows: Bit 0 - Non Bit 1 - Use Bit 3 - Legacy ERP PresentProtection OFDM Present Action for 802.11n 0 0 0 Use .11n frames 1 1 0Use MAC protection 1 1 1 Use MAC protection 0 1 1 Use PHY or MACprotection 0 0 1 Optionally use PHY or MAC Protection

For 0.11n the MAC level protection mechanisms are the same as for 0.11g.Stations should either use CTS to self or a CTS/RTS exchange to set theNAV (network allocation vector) of legacy stations.

Returning the logic diagram of FIG. 7, the processing continues at step130 where the wireless communication device utilizes the selectedprotocol within the proximal region to set up a wireless communicationwithin the proximal region. This was illustrated in FIGS. 3-6. Theprocess then proceeds to step 132 where the wireless communicationdevice uses its protocol for a data transmission of the wirelesscommunication.

FIG. 8 is a logic diagram of method for determining whether the selectedprotocol should be changed. The processing begins at step 140 where theaccess point and/or the wireless communication devices, monitors datatransmissions within the proximal region for unacknowledged datatransmissions. The process proceeds to step 142 where the access pointand/or the wireless communication device compares the unacknowledgeddata transmission with a transmission failure threshold (e.g., up to5%). If the comparison is favorable, the process proceeds to step 146where the selected protocol remains unchanged and the process repeats atstep 140.

If, however, the comparison at step 144 was unfavorable, the processproceeds to step 148 where the access point and/or the wirelesscommunication device selects another one of the protocols of thewireless communication devices within the proximal region based on theprotocol ordering to produce another selected protocol. For example, theMAC layer protection mechanism may be selected to replace the PHY layerprotection mechanism when too many transmission failures occur. Theprocess then proceeds to step 150 where the wireless communicationdevices uses the another selected protocol within the proximal region toset up the wireless communication within the proximal region.

FIG. 9 is a logic diagram of a method for a wireless communicationdevice to participate in multiple protocol wireless communications. Theprocess begins at step 160 where the wireless communication deviceaffiliates with an access point utilizing a protocol (e.g., IEEE802.11n) of the wireless communication device. The process then proceedsto step 162 where the wireless communication device receives a selectedprotocol from the access point. Note that the selected protocol and theprotocol of the wireless communication device may be a wireless localarea network communication formats in accordance with IEEE 802.11, IEEE802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n and/or furtherversions of the IEEE 802.11. Further note that the selected protocolincludes a first frame format that includes a legacy header and aMedia-Specific Access Control (MAC) layer partitioning field, a secondframe format that includes a physical (PHY) layer backward compatibleheader, and/or a third frame format that includes a current versionheader and the MAC layer partitioning field.

The process then proceeds to step 164 where the wireless communicationdevice determines whether the selected protocol and the protocol of thewireless communication device are of a like protocol. The processbranches at step 166 to step 168 when the protocols are the same and tostep 170 when the protocols are not the same. At step 168, the wirelesscommunication device utilizes the protocol to set up a wirelesscommunication and to transfer data. At step 170, the wirelesscommunication device utilizes the selected protocol to set up a wirelesscommunication. The process then proceeds to step 172 where the wirelesscommunication device utilizes the protocol of the wireless communicationdevice for the wireless communication.

FIG. 10 is a logic diagram of a method for a wireless communicationdevice to participate in multiple protocol wireless communications. Theprocess begins at step 180 where the wireless communication devicereceives a frame via a wireless channel. The process then proceeds tostep 182 where the wireless communication device determines whether aselected protocol is not of a like protocol of the wirelesscommunication device. When the selected protocol is the same as theprotocol of the wireless communication device, the process proceeds tostep 184 where the wireless communication device uses its protocol toset up a wireless communication and to transmit data.

If, however, the selected protocol is not the same as the protocol ofthe wireless communication device, the process proceeds to step 186where the wireless communication device uses the selected protocol tointerpret at least a portion of wireless communication set upinformation of the frame. In one embodiment, the wireless communicationdevice may interpret the set up information by interpreting a header ofthe frame for conformity with a legacy physical layer format to providethe interpreting of the at least a portion of the wireless communicationset up information and, when the header of the frame does not conformwith the legacy physical layer format, determining that the remainder ofthe frame is formatted in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device. Note that the legacy physical layer formatincludes at least one of IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11g and wherein theprotocol of the wireless communication device includes IEEE 802.11n.

In another embodiment, the wireless communication device may interpretthe set up information by interpreting the frame for conformity with alegacy Media-Specific Access Control (MAC) layer format to provide theinterpreting of the at least a portion of the wireless communication setup information and, when the header of the frame does not conform withthe legacy MAC layer format, determining that the remainder of the frameis formatted in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device. Note that the legacy physical layer formatincludes at least one of IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, and IEEE 802.11gand wherein the protocol of the wireless communication device includesIEEE 802.11n.

The process then proceeds to step 188 where the wireless communicationdevice, based on the interpreting of the at least a portion of thewireless communication set up information, determines whether aremainder of the frame is formatted in accordance with the protocol ofthe wireless communication device. The process then branches at step 190to step 194 when the remainder of the frame is formatted in accordancewith the protocol of the wireless communication device and to step 192when it does not. At step 192 the wireless communication device ignoresthe frame. At step 194, the wireless communication device processes theremainder of the frame based in accordance with the protocol of thewireless communication device.

FIG. 11 is a logic diagram of a method for a wireless communicationdevice to participate in multiple protocol wireless communications. Themethod begins at step 200 where the wireless communication devicedetermines whether a selected protocol is of a like protocol of thewireless communication device. The process branches at step 202 to step204 when the selected protocol is the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device and to step 206 when the protocols differ. At step204, the wireless communication device formats the set up informationportion of a frame and a data portion of the frame in accordance withits protocol. The wireless communication device then transmits theframe.

If, however, the selected protocol is not of the like protocol of thewireless communication device, the process proceeds to step 206 wherethe wireless communication device formats a portion of wirelesscommunication set up information in accordance with the selectedprotocol to produce legacy formatted set up information. The processthen proceeds to step 208 where the wireless communication deviceformats remainder of the wireless communication set up information inaccordance with the protocol of the wireless communication device toproduce current formatted set up information. The process then proceedsto step 210 where the wireless communication device formats data inaccordance with the protocol of the wireless communication device toproduce current formatted data. Refer to FIGS. 3-6 for examples of suchformatting. The process then proceeds to step 212 where the wirelesscommunication device transmits a frame containing the legacy formattedset up information, the current formatted set up information, and thecurrent formatted data.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, the term“substantially” or “approximately”, as may be used herein, provides anindustry-accepted tolerance to its corresponding term. Such anindustry-accepted tolerance ranges from less than one percent to twentypercent and corresponds to, but is not limited to, component values,integrated circuit process variations, temperature variations, rise andfall times, and/or thermal noise. As one of average skill in the artwill further appreciate, the term “operably coupled”, as may be usedherein, includes direct coupling and indirect coupling via anothercomponent, element, circuit, or module where, for indirect coupling, theintervening component, element, circuit, or module does not modify theinformation of a signal but may adjust its current level, voltage level,and/or power level. As one of average skill in the art will alsoappreciate, inferred coupling (i.e., where one element is coupled toanother element by inference) includes direct and indirect couplingbetween two elements in the same manner as “operably coupled”. As one ofaverage skill in the art will further appreciate, the term “comparesfavorably”, as may be used herein, indicates that a comparison betweentwo or more elements, items, signals, etc., provides a desiredrelationship. For example, when the desired relationship is that signal1 has a greater magnitude than signal 2, a favorable comparison may beachieved when the magnitude of signal 1 is greater than that of signal 2or when the magnitude of signal 2 is less than that of signal 1.

The preceding discussion has presented various embodiments for wirelesscommunications in a wireless communication system that includes aplurality of wireless communication devices of differing protocols. Asone of average skill in the art will appreciate, other embodiments maybe derived from the teachings of the present invention without deviatingfrom the scope of the claims.

1. A method for multiple protocol wireless communications, the methodcomprises: determining protocols of wireless communication deviceswithin a proximal region; determining whether the protocols of thewireless communication devices within the proximal region are of a likeprotocol; when the protocols of the wireless communication deviceswithin the proximal region are not of a like protocol, selecting aprotocol of the protocols of the wireless communication devices withinthe proximal region based on a protocol ordering to produce a selectedprotocol; and utilizing the selected protocol by the wirelesscommunication devices within the proximal region to set up a wirelesscommunication within the proximal region.
 2. The method of claim 1further comprises: when the wireless communication is set up using theselected protocol, utilizing, by a wireless communication device of thewireless communication devices, the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device for a data transmission.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the protocol ordering comprises: an ordering of the protocolsbased on legacy ordering of wireless communication devices.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the protocol ordering comprises: an orderingof the protocols based on a transmission efficiency ordering of theprotocols.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the protocols comprisewireless local area network communication formats in accordance with atleast one of: IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g,IEEE 802.11n and further versions of the IEEE 802.11.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the proximal region comprises at least one of: coveragearea of a basic service set; coverage area of an ad-hoc network; andcoverage area of the basic service set and at least a portion of atleast one neighboring basic service set.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the selected protocol comprises at least one of: a first frameformat that includes a legacy header and a Media-Specific Access Control(MAC) layer partitioning field; a second frame format that includes aphysical (PHY) layer backward compatible header; and a third frameformat that includes a current version header and the MAC layerpartitioning field.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining ofthe protocols comprises: determining frequency band of use of each ofthe wireless communication devices; and based on the frequency band,determining wireless local area network communication format of each ofthe wireless communication devices.
 9. The method of claim 1 furthercomprises: monitoring data transmissions within the proximal region forunacknowledged data transmissions; comparing the unacknowledged datatransmission with a transmission failure threshold; when the comparingthe unacknowledged data transmission with the transmission failurethreshold is unfavorable, selecting another one of the protocols of thewireless communication devices within the proximal region based on theprotocol ordering to produce another selected protocol; and utilizingthe another selected protocol by the wireless communication deviceswithin the proximal region to set up the wireless communication withinthe proximal region.
 10. A method for a wireless communication device toparticipate in multiple protocol wireless communications, the methodcomprises: affiliating with an access point utilizing a protocol of thewireless communication device; receiving a selected protocol from theaccess point; determining whether the selected protocol and the protocolof the wireless communication device are of a like protocol; and whenthe selected protocol and the protocol of the wireless communicationdevice are not of the like protocol: utilizing the selected protocol toset up a wireless communication; and utilizing the protocol of thewireless communication device for the wireless communication.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the selected protocol and the protocol ofthe wireless communication device comprise wireless local area networkcommunication formats in accordance with at least one of: IEEE 802.11,IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n and furtherversions of the IEEE 802.11.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein theselected protocol comprises at least one of: a first frame format thatincludes a legacy header and a Media-Specific Access Control (MAC) layerpartitioning field; a second frame format that includes a physical (PHY)layer backward compatible header; and a third frame format that includesa current version header and the MAC layer partitioning field.
 13. Awireless local area network (WLAN) comprises: at least one access point;and a plurality of wireless communication devices; wherein each of theleast one access points includes a processing module and memory, whereinthe memory includes operational instructions that cause the processingmodule to: determining protocols of the plurality of wirelesscommunication devices within a proximal region of the access point;determining whether the protocols of the plurality of wirelesscommunication devices within the proximal region are of a like protocol;and when the protocols of the plurality of wireless communicationdevices within the proximal region are not of a like protocol, selectinga protocol of the protocols of the plurality of wireless communicationdevices within the proximal region based on a protocol ordering toproduce a selected protocol; and wherein each of the plurality ofwireless communication devices includes a station processing module andstation memory, wherein the station memory includes operationalinstructions that cause the station processing module to utilize theselected protocol within the proximal region to set up a wirelesscommunication within the proximal region.
 14. The WLAN of claim 13,wherein the station memory further comprises operational instructionsthat cause the station processing module to: when the wirelesscommunication is set up using the selected protocol, utilize theprotocol of the wireless communication device for a data transmission.15. The WLAN of claim 13, wherein the protocol ordering comprises: anordering of the protocols based on legacy ordering of wirelesscommunication devices.
 16. The WLAN of claim 13, wherein the protocolordering comprises: an ordering of the protocols based on a transmissionefficiency ordering of the protocols.
 17. The WLAN of claim 13, whereinthe protocols comprise wireless local area network communication formatsin accordance with at least one of: IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n and further versions of the IEEE802.11.
 18. The WLAN of claim 13, wherein the proximal region comprisesat least one of: coverage area of a basic service set; coverage area ofan ad-hoc network; and coverage area of the basic service set and atleast a portion of at least one neighboring basic service set.
 19. TheWLAN of claim 13, wherein the selected protocol comprises at least oneof: a first frame format that includes a legacy header and aMedia-Specific Access Control (MAC) layer partitioning field; a secondframe format that includes a physical (PHY) layer backward compatibleheader; and a third frame format that includes a current version headerand the MAC layer partitioning field.
 20. The WLAN of claim 13, whereinthe memory further comprises operational instructions that cause theprocessing module of the access point to determine the protocols by:determining frequency band of use of each of the wireless communicationdevices; and based on the frequency band, determining wireless localarea network communication format of each of the wireless communicationdevices.
 21. The WLAN of claim 13 further comprises: the memory furtherincluding operational instructions that cause the processing module ofthe access point to: monitor data transmissions within the proximalregion for unacknowledged data transmissions; compare the unacknowledgeddata transmission with a transmission failure threshold; and when thecomparing the unacknowledged data transmission with the transmissionfailure threshold is unfavorable, select another one of the protocols ofthe wireless communication devices within the proximal region based onthe protocol ordering to produce another selected protocol; and thestation memory further including operational instructions that cause thestation processing module to utilize the another selected protocol toset up the wireless communication within the proximal region.
 22. Awireless communication device comprises: a radio transceiver; aprocessing module; and memory operably coupled to the processing module,wherein the memory includes operational instructions that cause theprocessing module to: affiliate, via the radio transceiver, with anaccess point utilizing a protocol of the wireless communication device;receive, via the radio transceiver, a selected protocol from the accesspoint; determine whether the selected protocol and the protocol of thewireless communication device are of a like protocol; and when theselected protocol and the protocol of the wireless communication deviceare not of the like protocol: utilize the selected protocol to set up awireless communication; and utilize the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device for the wireless communication.
 23. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 22, wherein the selected protocol and theprotocol of the wireless communication device comprise wireless localarea network communication formats in accordance with at least one of:IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n andfurther versions of the IEEE 802.11.
 24. The wireless communicationdevice of claim 22, wherein the selected protocol comprises at least oneof: a first frame format that includes a legacy header and aMedia-Specific Access Control (MAC) layer partitioning field; a secondframe format that includes a physical (PHY) layer backward compatibleheader; and a third frame format that includes a current version headerand the MAC layer partitioning field.
 25. A method for a wirelesscommunication device to participate in multiple protocol wirelesscommunications, the method comprises: receiving a frame via a wirelesschannel; when a selected protocol is not of a like protocol of thewireless communication device, utilizing the selected protocol tointerpret at least a portion of wireless communication set upinformation of the frame; based on the interpreting of the at least aportion of the wireless communication set up information, determiningwhether a remainder of the frame is formatted in accordance with theprotocol of the wireless communication device; and when the remainder ofthe frame is formatted in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device, processing the remainder of the frame based inaccordance with the protocol of the wireless communication device. 26.The method of claim 25 further comprises: interpreting a header of theframe for conformity with a legacy physical layer format to provide theinterpreting of the at least a portion of the wireless communication setup information; and when the header of the frame does not conform withthe legacy physical layer format, determining that the remainder of theframe is formatted in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the legacyphysical layer format includes at least one of IEEE 802.11a and IEEE802.11g and wherein the protocol of the wireless communication deviceincludes IEEE 802.11 n.
 28. The method of claim 25 further comprises:interpreting the frame for conformity with a legacy Media-SpecificAccess Control (MAC) layer format to provide the interpreting of the atleast a portion of the wireless communication set up information; andwhen the header of the frame does not conform with the legacy MAC layerformat, determining that the remainder of the frame is formatted inaccordance with the protocol of the wireless communication device. 29.The method of claim 28, wherein the legacy physical layer formatincludes at least one of IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, and IEEE 802.11gand wherein the protocol of the wireless communication device includesIEEE 802.11n.
 30. A wireless communication device comprises: a radiotransceiver; a processing module; and memory operably coupled to theprocessing module, wherein the memory includes operational instructionsthat cause the processing module to: receive a frame via a wirelesschannel; when a selected protocol is not of a like protocol of thewireless communication device, utilize the selected protocol tointerpret at least a portion of wireless communication set upinformation of the frame; based on the interpreting of the at least aportion of the wireless communication set up information, determinewhether a remainder of the frame is formatted in accordance with theprotocol of the wireless communication device; and when the remainder ofthe frame is formatted in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device, process the remainder of the frame based inaccordance with the protocol of the wireless communication device. 31.The wireless communication device of claim 30, wherein the memoryfurther comprises operational instructions that cause the processingmodule to: interpret a header of the frame for conformity with a legacyphysical layer format to provide the interpreting of the at least aportion of the wireless communication set up information; and when theheader of the frame does not conform with the legacy physical layerformat, determine that the remainder of the frame is formatted inaccordance with the protocol of the wireless communication device. 32.The wireless communication device of claim 31, wherein the legacyphysical layer format includes at least one of IEEE 802.11a and IEEE802.11g and wherein the protocol of the wireless communication deviceincludes IEEE 802.11n.
 33. The wireless communication device of claim30, wherein the memory further comprises operational instructions thatcause the processing module to: interpret the frame for conformity witha legacy Media-Specific Access Control (MAC) layer format to provide theinterpreting of the at least a portion of the wireless communication setup information; and when the header of the frame does not conform withthe legacy MAC layer format, determine that the remainder of the frameis formatted in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device.
 34. The wireless communication device of claim 33,wherein the legacy physical layer format includes at least one of IEEE802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, and IEEE 802.11g and wherein the protocol of thewireless communication device includes IEEE 802.11n.
 35. A method for awireless communication device to participate in multiple protocolwireless communications, the method comprises: determining whether aselected protocol is of a like protocol of the wireless communicationdevice; when the selected protocol is not of the like protocol of thewireless communication device, formatting a portion of wirelesscommunication set up information in accordance with the selectedprotocol to produce legacy formatted set up information; formattingremainder of the wireless communication set up information in accordancewith the protocol of the wireless communication device to producecurrent formatted set up information; formatting data in accordance withthe protocol of the wireless communication device to produce currentformatted data; and transmitting a frame containing the legacy formattedset up information, the current formatted set up information, and thecurrent formatted data.
 36. The method of claim 35 further comprises:when the selected protocol is of the like protocol of the wirelesscommunication device, formatting the wireless communication set upinformation in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device to produce current formatted set up information;formatting the data in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device to produce current formatted data; and transmittingthe frame containing the current formatted set up information and thecurrent formatted data.
 37. The method of claim 36 further comprises:the wireless communication set up information including a short trainingsequence field, a plurality of long training sequence fields, and a highdata throughput service field; and the data includes a plurality of datasymbol fields.
 38. The method of claim 35 further comprises: the portionof the wireless communication set up information includes a shorttraining sequence field, a long training sequence field, and a servicefield; the remainder of the wireless communication set up informationincludes a plurality of supplemental long training sequences and a highdata throughput service field; and the data includes a plurality of datasymbol fields.
 39. A wireless communication device comprises: a radiotransceiver; a processing module; and memory operably coupled to theprocessing module, wherein the memory includes operational instructionsthat cause the processing module to: determine whether a selectedprotocol is of a like protocol of the wireless communication device;when the selected protocol is not of the like protocol of the wirelesscommunication device, format a portion of wireless communication set upinformation in accordance with the selected protocol to produce legacyformatted set up information; format remainder of the wirelesscommunication set up information in accordance with the protocol of thewireless communication device to produce current formatted set upinformation; format data in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device to produce current formatted data; and transmit aframe containing the legacy formatted set up information, the currentformatted set up information, and the current formatted data.
 40. Thewireless communication device of claim 39, wherein the memory furthercomprises operational instructions that cause the processing module to:when the selected protocol is of the like protocol of the wirelesscommunication device, format the wireless communication set upinformation in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device to produce current formatted set up information;format the data in accordance with the protocol of the wirelesscommunication device to produce current formatted data; and transmit theframe containing the current formatted set up information and thecurrent formatted data.
 41. The wireless communication device of claim40 further comprises: the wireless communication set up informationincluding a short training sequence field, a plurality of long trainingsequence fields, and a high data throughput service field; and the dataincludes a plurality of data symbol fields.
 42. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 39 further comprises: the portion of thewireless communication set up information includes a short trainingsequence field, a long training sequence field, and a service field; theremainder of the wireless communication set up information includes aplurality of supplemental long training sequences and a high datathroughput service field; and the data includes a plurality of datasymbol fields.